Staying Safe in the Tornado Season
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Article by: Graham McClung I guess you don't need reminding, but every year, from about early spring , Ordinary Objects? Or Listening Devices? to mid summer , Protect Your Home with Spy Camera - say mid February to mid June - tornadoes become part of the US scene. Of course tornadoes can occur anywhere and any time if the conditions are right, but during that second quarter of the year, over the midwest and bordering states, the chances of tornadoes are greatest. And on average, 60 people will lose their lives each year. So what can you do to make sure you and your family aren't listed among the casualties next time there are tornadoes around? Quite a lot, actually, but first let's just review what tornadoes are and how they form. Tornado Formation and Forecasting Tornadoes are rapidly rotating winds that are always associated with thunderstorms. They form tight spirals of extremely strong winds, capable in their most severe form of destroying almost everything in their path. , CCTV Video Equipment Surveillance By no means all thunderstorms produce tornadoes, and while big thunderstorms tend to breed big tornadoes, there is no hard and fast rule. Most tornadoes are short lived, and most occur away from populated areas. Although there are very few rules which apply to all tornadoes, all of the time, we do know that when large thunderstorms, or super cells form, tornadoes are most likely to develop. Thunderstorms like these generally build when warm moist air , Is a Dummy Home Security Camera Economical? is forced to rise over cooler or drier air. , Body Worn Cameras You’d Never Guess Other conditions have to be right, but for the most part thunderstorm formation is fairly easy for meteorologists to forecast, although estimating storm severity is not as easy, and the likelihood of a tornado is even more difficult to predict. And here the forecasters have a dilemma. For reasons of public safety, , Hurricane Preparedness they must warn people if tornadoes and other forms of severe storm weather , Defining the World of Security Cameras are possible. Possible is not certain, so some forecasts turn out to be false alarms. , Home Security - Protect Your Home with Dummy Security Cameras But consider the alternative - no warnings are given until too late, and people die simply because they have been given too little time to prepare. Preparing For Tornadoes The First thing to do when faced with any emergency , Home Security - How You Can Help the Police Before Your Property is Stolen is to be prepared in advance to take the most sensible action. And Rule 2 is to treat all tornado watches and warnings seriously. So what's a tornado watch, and how is it different from a warning? A tornado watch defines an area where tornadoes and other kinds of severe weather , Types Of Home Security are possible in the next few hours. It does not mean tornadoes will form - just that you need to be alert, and to be prepared to find safe , Home Security: How to Make Your Own Room shelter if they do. A tornado warning, issued by the local , Protect Yourself from Cell Phone Bugs National Weather , Protect Yourself from Cell Phone Bugs Service office, means that a tornado has been spotted, or that Doppler radar indicates a thunderstorm acting in a way which can spawn a tornado. When a tornado warning is issued for your town or county, take immediate safety , Home Security: Your Yard is the First Line of Defense precautions. This brings us to Rule 3. Invest in a Weather Radio, make sure its batteries are fresh, and that it is on standby whenever thunderstorms look likely. A good weather , Defining the World of Security Cameras radio will activate itself whenever a tornado watch or warning is issued, (and will do the same for any other weather , Home Security Alarm Monitoring Services - Do You Need One? threat or civil emergency). If there are tornadoes forming in your area, your best defence is having the time to get to safe , Tips On Buying An Effective Alarm System shelter, and Weather , Alarm System: Contacts (Window & Door Switches) Radio will give you this. And so to Rule 4. Make sure you know where safe , Alarm System: Contacts (Window & Door Switches) shelter is, and make sure you know how to , Home Security - Discuss Your Home's Security With A Professsional Surveyor get there in a hurry. Finding shelter may be easy or difficult, depending where you are, and the action you take may depend on how prepared you are. Most workplaces and schools in a tornado prone area will have a tornado plan. , Protect Yourself from Cell Phone Bugs If you are at home , Protect Your with Spy Camera you should move to a safe location, , Home Security - Discuss Your Home's Security With A Professsional Surveyor either one you have prepared in your home, , Security: How to Make Your Own Safe Room or at a public shelter. The safety , Home Security System, You Are A winner of a home , Stand-by Generators - Security & Comfort shelter will depend on the construction of your house, , The Importance Of Location and whether you have modified it to provide a safe room. , CCTV Video Equipment Surveillance Brick and concrete , CCTV Video Equipment Surveillance are stronger than timber, , Security Cameras and basements , Finding a Physical Phone Tap are safer than ground floors , Why Should You Consult a Professional Locksmith when Selecting or Installing Security Hardware? or upper storeys. A safe room , Why Should You Consult a Professional Locksmith when Selecting or Installing Security Hardware? is any room , Security Cameras on the ground floor , Ordinary Objects? Or Listening Devices? or basement , Home Security Alarm Monitoring Services - Do You Need One? that has been reinforced with steel or concrete , How Safe are Your Possessions? to make it safe , Broken Key Removal (Pin Tumbler Locks) during strong winds, collapsing roofs , Additional Features of a Home Security Alarm System and walls, , Home Security System, You Are A winner and from wind blown debris. Expensive? Undoubtedly, but aren't you worth it? If you are in your vehicle when a tornado arrives you have two choices. If traffic and roads allow, you can drive away from it - if possible take a few moments to assess the risks. If you can see the tornado, line it up with a fixed point such as a building , Alarm System: Contacts (Window & Door Switches) or a tree. , Home Security Alarm Monitoring Services - Do You Need One? If it moves to the left or right the tornado is not heading towards you, but to be on the safe , CCTV Video Equipment Surveillance side, drive off in the opposite direction. If it doesn't appear to move, but does appear to be growing , Broken Key Removal (Pin Tumbler Locks) larger, it is probably coming your way. Drive off to the side if possible. If you can't drive away from it or find secure shelter, abandon your car, and lie flat , Home Security Devices - How To Choose A Company To Buy From on the lowest ground you can find - a roadside ditch would be a good option. Cars can be death traps, and sheltering under bridges or overpasses is very risky. The same strategy applies if you are on foot - look for strong safe , Hurricane Preparedness enclosed shelter first, or a low point on the ground if that is not available. Keep all these in mind and your chances of survival are good. Deaths in tornadoes are mostly caused by building , Home Security - How You Can Help the Police Before Your Property is Stolen collapse, vehicles overturning or becoming airborne, and flying debris. So have a plan, , Security Cameras and keep your weather , Types Of Home Security radio handy and charged up, and there's every reason to believe you'll make it through to the next tornado season. , Kids and Guns ©2005, Graham McClung. A retired geologist, Graham McClung has had a lifelong interest in the outdoors. , Insurance In The Form Of A Swimming Pool Safety Fence And where there's outdoors , Alarm System Keypads there's weather. , Home Security: Your Yard is the First Line of Defense He is the editor of Home , Hurricane Preparedness Weather Stations Guide, where among many other weather , Fireproof Home Safes - Be Prepared For the Worst related topics you can find out more about Tornadoes. You can email him at graham@home-weather-stations-guide.com. |
  
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